


Silent Emotions

by elusiverose



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Eventual Romance, F/F, POV Third Person, Slow Burn, celegiri - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2020-02-08 15:11:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18625777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elusiverose/pseuds/elusiverose
Summary: Kyouko is studying in Europe along with some of her Hope's Peak Academy's friends. The ones who didn't want to continue with their studies chose their own path, like Celestia for example, who decided to continue gambling. Neither Kyouko or Celes had expected to meet again, and even less to change each other's life as much as they did after their reecounter.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY SO HELLO EVERYONE THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE FIRST CHAPTER OF A KIND OF LONG CELEGIRI STORY  
> i'm just testing the waters with this first chapter too see what people think of it (plot, characterisation, anything about it honestly) so kudos and comments are really appreciated and give me motivation to continue with it and update more frequently (i'll update as soon as i can, i only ask for patience)  
> take into account i'll be adding characters to the tags as they appear in the story, and that rating might change in the future  
> notice english isn't my first language, i apologize in advance for the possible mistakes (this doesn't mean i asked for corrections)  
> special thanks to my amazing friend [Jun](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JunAikawa) for putting up with my annoying ass talking about ideas for this fanfic (well about celegiri in general) and revising it i love him  
> last but not least hope you enjoy it!  
> disclaimer: i don't own danganronpa

Kyouko quickly adjusted to life on campus. Three years had past since her graduation in Hope’s Peak Academy, and two since she had moved to Europe to study. Before they graduated, students from class 78th in Hope’s Peak had been offered the opportunity to study in Europe – France more specifically, obviously financed by a scholarship, a thing at first nearly everyone in the class considered. But after graduation, only like half of the class wanted to at least give it a try.

The ones who accepted and continued with their studies were: Kiyotaka, Sayaka, Makoto, Byakuya, Touko, Aoi, Chihiro, Hifumi, Sakura and of course Kyouko. The rest opted for following their own path. They only kept in contact with Mondo since him and Kiyotaka grew quite close during their time in Hope’s Peak, the rest of them sent occasional messages and didn’t even bother to call. But Kyouko wasn’t bothered at all with that. She was in her third year of a criminology degree, and lived in the university residence, having the chance to see her ex and current classmates there. Neither of them were in the same degree as her, but they were all in the same campus.

Sayaka was her roommate, and their room was quite closer to the ones the rest of the girls were in, the boy’s dorms were in other floor, but they were all still in the same building – except Sakura, who ended up buying her own flat there because of her job, so their new life wasn’t so different from what they had in Hope’s Peak. Apart from keeping her old friends close, Kyouko was recently, and by recently she meant two years, getting closer with one of his new classmates, Shuichi Saihara. The boy was at first quiet and didn’t stand out, but as time went by he found the courage to talk to her, and surprisingly to Kyouko they had got on quite well.

Life for the purplette was quite good actually. She was happy with her friends, her studies, her situation in general, and all those things made her open up to the people she was closer with and become more confident since she was in Hope’s Peak – she even improved her relationship with her father by keeping in contact with him little by little, years make you grow after all. Kyouko had grown both emotionally and physically, and she was now a grown twenty-year-old young woman.

Her daily life was simple and somewhat easy. Apart from going to class and studying in her room or the library, she also went out with her friends quite frequently – often because they insisted her to do it, but she actually enjoyed their company. Another thing she liked to do when she had free time was going to the gym to keep fit. As a detective, she knew quite a lot of self-defence manoeuvres to use if necessary, so she often went there – alone or with Shuichi – to keep fit and grow stronger if she could. Sakura owned the local gym since she finished her studies very soon and was offered to work there, and Kyouko enjoyed her company pretty much when she went there to exercise. She liked how her life was going basically.

However, Kyouko Kirigiri wasn’t expecting that what happened that day would change everything she was used to.

It was Friday evening, and Kyouko was going back to campus along with Shuichi after spending half of the afternoon doing some research for a class project they had to do, and the other half relaxing because lessons had ended for that week. The sun was already hidden and it was getting dark, so they wanted to go back as soon as possible. They were passing by a poorly populated neighbourhood when the sudden high and angry voice of a man make them stop in their tracks.

“You took everything away from me! You, lying bitch!”

“You made a bet, and you lost. It’s your entire fault.” Kyouko recognised that silk but serious voice immediately even if she hadn’t heard it in three years. Countless questions came to her mind, but she stood still, gesturing Shuichi to keep silent and walked towards the alleyway. With panic in his eyes, the boy refused to leave her alone so he followed her.

From the corner of the alleyway, they carefully spied and saw a what it looked like a wealthy man facing none other than Celestia Ludenberg, who looked surprisingly composed for someone who was in front of a man carrying a gun, said object pointed at her. The two detectives instantly knew what was happening, specially Kyouko since she knew what kind of barely legal businesses Celes used to be into – and still was apparently. Celes and the other man were alone, and he seemed to be quite willing to shoot her at any moment without hesitation.

Kyouko looked at Saihara gesturing him to intervene before things got worse. The boy was already sweating and overwhelmed, but still nodded and prepared himself to take action.

“Your life ends here.” The man said, anger present as he spoke. As he was going to shoot, Kyouko quickly run towards him and grabbed his wrist diverting the bullet and making him throw the gun, proceeding to immobilise him before he could resist – which wasn’t difficult since he had been taken by surprise and both detectives were being trained to that kind of situations.

“Take the gun!” Kyouko told the boy, and he complied without a second of doubt taking a safe distance from the other three people.

 “I’m calling the police.” Shuichi said taking out his phone, but Celes sent him a warning – and kind of scary – glare, something Kyouko noticed.

“No.” The purplette simply stated. She imagined Celes wouldn’t have followed a legal path, and calling the police was high chance she ended up in prison.

“No?” The boy asked in confusion.

“I’ll explain everything later, just don’t do it.”

Shuichi nodded and waited for Kyouko to make the next move. “Go away.” The purplette commanded to the man with a threatening voice tone. “And leave her alone. Or I’ll have to report you.” He nodded strongly and run as fast as he could when Kyouko freed him.

The boy then sighed in relief and looked at Kyouko, but said girl had her eyes on the gambler. They were intensely looking at each other, so it wasn’t difficult for Shuichi to deduce that wasn’t the first time they met and kept quiet, like if he was afraid to break the moment.

“Listen.” Kyouko put a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down. “Go back, I’ll be there in a moment.”

“S-sure. Do you want me to wait for you in the campus entrance?” Kyouko slightly widened her eyes when he mentioned the location since she didn’t want to give away too personal information about her even to Celes, but now there was no way back.

“You don’t have to. Just be careful on the way back and tell Maizono I’ll arrive later.”

After nodding, the boy left Kyouko and Celes alone in the alleyway. Kyouko was the first one to break the ice. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I’m glad to see you too, Miss Detective.”

“Sorry if I sounded unpolite, this took me by surprise.” Kyouko took her time observing Celes now things were more relaxed. The gambler hadn’t changed her style, she was wearing a gothic lolita dress similar to the one she always wore in Hope’s Peak along with her twin drills, but the physical change she went through was noticeable for the detective. Her body and facets in general were now the ones of a mature young woman, and Kyouko couldn’t help to be fascinated by her beauty.

“Understandable. Now, as much as I want to go on with this conversation, I suggest we do it somewhere else since staying here is dangerous for now.” Celes said and Kyouko nodded in response. “You have to return to campus, don’t you?”

The detective raised an eyebrow. There was no use for lying since Celes already knew where she was going, but Kyouko didn’t want to give her the exact place and direction. But Celes seemed to know what she was thinking. “I already know where it is, you don’t have to hide it. I can lead the way if you don’t believe me.”

Kyouko felt like if she was being caught but didn’t show it. “Fine. You go first.”

Celes nodded and started walking calmly until they were in the entrance, where she stopped and turned around with her default smile on her face. “See? I wasn’t lying.”

“And I appreciate your honestly. It seems you’ve been living here for some time.”

“You could say so.” Celes knew some of her ex-classmates had accepted the offer to study in Europe, but didn’t expect to find them there since the continent was quite big. “How rude of me to haven’t asked you yet, how are you doing?”

“Quite well actually, we’ve been here for three years so now we’re more than used to living here.” Kyouko answered in plural when she knew there were high chances Celes wasn’t interested in the rest of their friends, but neither of them mentioned it. “May I ask you the same question?”

“Let’s say my life is going quite alright as well.” Celes said with her default smile on her face, clearly without the intention of telling the other girl more than necessary.

“I’m glad to hear that. I thought I wouldn’t see you again if I’m being honest.” Kyouko wouldn’t say that out loud, but she was slightly happy to see Celes again. The gambler was one of the people who drew her attention because of her lying addiction and flamboyant persona, and when she rejected the offer to study in Europe, Kyouko couldn’t help feeling a bit disappointed.

“Life’s full of surprises.”

Kyouko responded with a chuckle and looked at her phone, seeing it was really late and she had to go to her room. “Would you mind if someone of our old classmates know you’re here?”

“It would be better if they don't, to be honest. Were you going to tell anyone?”

“Not really. But I’m arriving later than usual, and they’ll ask questions.”

“Depends on who will ask then.”

“Maizono is my roommate.” Kyouko said, knowing that was enough for Celes.

The gambler clicked her tongue and sighed. “If there’s no other option.”

“I can tell her an excuse, but I’d rather avoid lying. Even if I tell her the truth, she doesn’t need to know the details of what exactly happened though.”

“I suppose you can tell her then. There’s also the boy who was with you.”

“He won’t say a thing. I’ll talk to him tomorrow.”

“I certainly hope so. If either of them dares to say something about it, I’ll make sure they regret it.”

Kyouko nodded while running a hand through her hair. “Understood.”

“I suppose I’m going now.” Celes said after a moment of uncomfortable silence.

“I can’t go to my room knowing I left you alone in the middle of the street at night.”

“You’re worried about me? How tender.” The gambler smirked.

“I’m being serious, Celes. I can’t leave you like this.”

“If it would help you to feel relieved, we can meet another time so you can make sure I’m alive.”

The sudden invitation surprised Kyouko. “I accept.”

“Perfect. Also, I’d rather have only your company.”

The purplette nodded, understanding she would have to invent an excuse for the meeting to her friends. “Where and when?”

“There’s a café right in front of the campus. I’ll meet you there tomorrow at five in the afternoon. Are you okay with that?” That was a command more than a question, but Kyouko nodded again anyway. “Then I should be going.”

“Be careful.” As she said goodbye, Kyouko quickly returned to her room with the image of Celes still on her mind. When she opened its door, she saw her roommate waking up instantly.

“Where were you? I was worried!” A very sleepy Sayaka asked.

“You knew I was arriving late. Saihara told you, didn’t he?”

“Well, yes he did… but I was still worried about you!”

Kyouko rolled her eyes, but there was affection in her voice. “You were about to sleep.”

“That doesn’t matter! Why are you late anyway?”

“I ran into Celes.”

“What?!” Kyouko gestured her to stay silent and the idol lowered her voice, still quite surprised. “But like, our Celes? Celestia Ludenberg?”

“Yes.”

“Why is she here?”

“I don’t know. I’ll ask her another time”

“I wonder what she’s doing here…”

“Maizono. As much as I wonder it too, I must ask you to keep this as a secret.”

The bluette nodded energetically. “I won’t say a word. And I keep telling you, just call me Sayaka. We’ve been friend for years.”

“It’s what I’m used to, sorry.”

“It’s okay, but I’ll keep insisting until you get used to it.”

Kyouko smiled tenderly. “What did I expect. Now if you don’t mind, I’m quite tired so I’m going to bed.”

“Me too.” Sayaka yawned. “Good night Kyouko.” She said seconds before falling completely asleep.

“Good night.” Kyouko responded knowing the other girl couldn’t hear her. It didn’t last much since she was in her own bed, certain crimson eyes coming to her mind seconds before she fell asleep too.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first of all thanks everyone for the kudos and comments you left, i promise i read everything!!  
> now i wanted to clarify a few things:  
> \- danganronpa v3 killing harmony characters who appear in the story are the same age as class 78th, 20  
> \- goodbye despair characters who will appear attended to hope's peak and are a year older than class 78th's, so some of them knew each other (unlike drv3kh characters who didn't study there)  
> \- i'm writing a kyouko who grew closer to her hope's peak classmates she's with now, so don't expect her to be as cold (so to speak) and reserved with them as she was in the game  
> \- on the other hand, celes hadn't seem them in three years (of course she acts different with kyouko) and her life is much different from kyouko's, i really hope to make a good characterisation of them both
> 
> sorry for the long note oof, i think that's it by now so with that said hope you enjoy this chapter, leave kudos or comments if you want!

Kyouko woke up without feeling tired, as usual. Sayaka was still sleeping, and she opted not to wake her up since it was Saturday, and Kyouko knew the idol needed more sleep. Apart from her studies, Sayaka had started working as an idol professionally and sometimes put too much effort and ended up exhausted, so she the more rest she took, the better.

The detective just had a shower and got dressed when she heard a knock on the door, seeing a smiling Shuichi when she opened it.

“Good morning, Kirigiri. Would you like to join me for breakfast?”

“Morning. And sure, let’s go.” Kyouko closed the door after leaving a note for Sayaka, and knew Shuichi would want an explanation of what happened the day before, but wouldn’t bring the topic up.

Once at the cafeteria, when they had already eaten breakfast, Kyouko took a deep breath and gave Shuichi a serious look. “As for yesterday…”

“You don’t have to explain it now if you don’t want to!” He hurried to say. “I won’t tell anyone.”

“I’d rather tell you right now if you’re okay with it.” The boy nodded nervously. “You see, that woman we saw last night… she was in my class at Hope’s Peak.”

The boy’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“Yes. She was one of the students who didn’t take the offer to study here and decided to choose her own path. A barely legal one may I say. Anyway, I must ask you not to say a thing about it.”

“I’ve already told you, I won’t. You can trust me.” He said the last sentence with a lack of security, but Kyouko didn’t mention it. She knew the boy was quite insecure and probably wouldn’t even completely trust himself, but Kyouko was willing to support him with that.

“I do.” Neither mentioned what happened the night before again, and Shuichi didn’t dare to ask the goth’s name or talent. Once they went outside, the Kyouko saw Sayaka along with Makoto and Aoi. They were either going to have breakfast or looking for her. Or both.

“Hey, Kyouko!” Aoi said energetically as she went towards the detectives. “You’re really a morning person.”

“Good morning to you too.” She smiled at the three of them, gesture to which Sayaka and Makoto responded waving their hands.

“We’re going to Sakura’s apartment this afternoon, are you coming?” The swimmer asked.

“I can’t.” Kyouko wasn’t fond of lying, but she had to this time. “We have to continue with our class project, right Saihara?”

Shuichi looked at her quite confused, and Kyouko responded raising her eyebrows. He took the hint then. “Right! S-sorry guys, we’d like to finish as soon as possible.”

“Can you stop being excessively responsible for like, one day?” Aoi pouted.

“I’m really sorry. I’ll join you at night, okay?” Kyouko said with a reassuring smile.

“See you tonight, then.” Makoto said, grabbing both girls’ wrists before they started to complain or ask anything. “Come on guys, we should be going. Good luck, Kyouko.”

When the three of them were out of sight, Kyouko sighed in relief.

“I won’t ask what you’re doing today as long as it’s safe.” Shuichi said. He knew Kyouko wasn’t someone who involved herself in illegal or dangerous stuff, and most of all respected her privacy, so much to his curiosity he decided to trust her and didn’t insist.

“Thank you, Saihara. Though we could actually continue with the project, my meeting is at five in the afternoon.”

Shuichi accepted since he didn’t have anything to do, so they went on with their project – and ate lunch together until it was time for Kyouko to go.

The purplette arrived at the café ten minutes before the time agreed, and patiently waited for Celes outside. She didn’t have time to worry about Celes since said girl appeared three minutes later, showing Kyouko an unusual tender smile.

“You arrived early.” The gambler said, voice soft and sweet.

“I’m used to be punctual.”

With a grin, Celes entered in the café and Kyouko followed her. They sat on a table as far as possible from the rest of the clientele, something both preferred. Celes ordered milk tea – habits never changed, and Kyouko black coffee with sugar.

“I’m surprised you don’t have plans a Saturday afternoon.” Celes started.

“Actually, our ex-classmates had met today and wanted me to go with them, but our meeting was planned before they told me about that, so I had to say no.”

“I’m curious then, what did you tell them you were doing?”

“I told them I had to do a class project with the boy who was with me yesterday.” Celes raised an eyebrow. “He went along and didn’t ask why I lied.”

“What a good boy indeed.”

“He’s a great friend, honestly. Anyway, I’m joining them at night, probably after our reunion.”

“You’ve grown that close to the point you spend the night at their house?”

“We’ve been together for years, so we’ve bonded even more. And it’s Oogami’s house, though I’m still not sure if we’re spending the night there. Well, except for Hina, she definitely will.”

“Oh.” Celes widened her eyes, knowing what Kyouko’s words were implying. “So they’re finally a thing.”

“It took them a while to realize their feelings were mutual, but yes, they’ve been dating for a year.”

“It was so obvious they liked each other… I was getting tired of that tension. Anyway, tell me things about you. You’re doing good, right?”

Kyouko looked at her, doubting if she should give Celes more information about her present life. She knew how the gambler’s mind worked. If Kyouko gave in and told her what she wanted, Celes would do the same. Besides, Celes knew the detective could see through the majority of her lies, and if either of them didn’t want to answer any question, they just had to say it, and the other would perfectly understand it and wouldn’t insist. That’s what made their relationship work back when they were in Hope’s Peak – and it still did, even if they hadn’t seen each other for three years. They could understand each other in that sense.

Maybe giving in and answering sincerely to Celes’ question would be a good way to let her know Kyouko wanted to keep that kind of relationship they had.

“Me? Well, in case you didn’t know, I’m pursuing a degree in criminology. I’m in my third year now, that boy who was with me yesterday is my classmate. My results are also pretty good to be honest.”

“Brilliant results and good company, as I expected from you.” Celes smiled. “Except Oogami, I guess you’re all living in campus, aren’t you?”

“Yes. There’s not a single day I’m not near any of them, since Sayaka is my roommate and we hang out with the rest nearly on a daily basis.”

“Is that statement meant to have good or bad connotations?”

“Good ones, of course. I won’t deny it took me a few months to get completely used to this new life, but we were plenty of time together in Hope’s Peak, so it wasn’t that complicated. And their company is quite enjoyable… most of the time.” Kyouko answered. She didn’t mean they could be annoying, she just preferred to be alone sometimes. The gambler understood her without specification though.

“Sincerely, I’m glad you’re happy with the life you have now.” Celes said as she held the cup of tea in her hands. “Normally I wouldn’t care about other people’s life, but you’re one of the few ones I’ve ever met I don’t find annoying or irrelevant.”

“Thank you.” For some reason, Kyouko could tell she wasn’t lying. “Would you get mad,” She dared to ask. “If I want to know the details of your current life as well?”

“Not at all. You told me about yours, so it’s fair I do the same.” She took a sip of tea and left the cup on the table. It was Celes’ time to give in. “As you can imagine, I’m still taking advantage of my talent as Ultimate Gambler. I spent a year in Japan and moved here when I had the money and means to. It didn’t take much time for me to gain popularity as one of the best gamblers around here, and some people even recognised me when I said I'm the Queen of Liars. But I guess having popularity isn’t always good, as you could see in that… argument I was having yesterday. Though that popularity had extended through the wealthy people rather than the police, luckily for me.”

“I see. I imagined your habits wouldn’t have changed.” Celes raised an eyebrow, like if she was expecting an explanation. “Not that I’m complaining. I’m glad you were able to be successful in the life you chose. In fact, I should’ve expected you to move here.”

“Is that so?”

“You always said your dream was to live in a European castle, surrounded by male vampire servants. This is like your first step.” Kyouko said with a slightly amused expression. “Besides, I’m sure you’ve improved your French here.”

Celes’ eyes widened as she gave the detective a playful smile. “It’s a pleasant surprise you remember those things about me. You never cease to amaze me, Kirigiri.”

“I could say the same about you.”

They continued chatting about countless topics, and much to their surprise, they enjoyed each other’s company a lot more than they expected. They didn’t need to say it since both already knew the feeling was mutual. Their minds worked quite alike.

“I almost forget.” Celes suddenly said. “I must thank you for helping me last night. Who knows where I’d be right now if you hadn’t done that.”

Kyouko was certain that was a lie. There was no way Celes had _almost forgotten_ about that, she just didn’t want to say it before. But the detective didn’t mention it. Also, the unconcerned way Celes indirectly mentioned she could be dead now sent shivers down Kyouko’s spine, but her face kept neutral. “You don’t have to thank me. I couldn’t ignore that situation.”

Celes grinned. “Of course you couldn’t.” She knew Kyouko had a strong sense of justice and would never ignore someone who was in danger. The gambler would though.

When Kyouko noticed it was getting dark, they paid the bill and went outside, spending some minutes in comfortable silence. They had the same sentence in their minds: _Give me your phone number_ , but neither dared to say it. Kyouko was going to open her mouth when her phone rang. It was Aoi. Kyouko looked at Celes silently asking if she didn’t care about her picking up the phone. Celes only shrugged, letting her know it was fine.

“Hello?”

“Kyouko! Just wanted to ask when you’re coming.”

“I’ve finished with what I had to do so I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“Okay! See youuu!” Kyouko sighed and hung up. Aoi was always excessively energetic and cheerful, but it was contagious somehow, so she smiled at the phone.

“I see you have things to do now, so I’ll leave.” Celes said.

Much to her surprise Kyouko felt a bit sad since they were going to separate without knowing if they would to see each other again, but didn’t say anything and neither did Celes.

“Goodbye then, my dear.”

The pet name left Kyouko speechless for some seconds. “Be careful.” Was the only thing she could articulate.

The detective stood still for a few minutes, slightly regretting to let Celes go. When the gambler was out of sight, she gave a deep sigh and started to walk towards Sakura’s apartment, knocking on the door when she arrived and seeing the face of a familiar writer as it opened.

“H-hello.” Touko greeted her with a weak smile. The writer had learnt to express her feelings and relate to people the right way little by little through the years, and now, at least around them, her improvement was evident. “We were waiting for you.”

Kyouko went inside and saw Sakura, Aoi, Makoto, Sayaka, Chihiro, Hifumi and surprisingly Byakuya sitting in the living room, while Kiyotaka was away from them talking on the phone, probably with Mondo.

None of them asked Kyouko about what she was doing before, and after hours of chatting they ended up spending the night there since when they realized it was too late they were exhausted. That wasn’t the first time that happened, and Kyouko had to admit those people were a quite great company. It took some time for them to grow that closer though, but they were all happy with their actual relationship, even Byakuya, who didn’t want to admit he appreciated them.

The next morning, they all – except Aoi left the apartment after having breakfast. The girls said goodbye to the boys once they were back in campus since their rooms were on separated floors. When Sayaka opened their room’s door, they noticed there was a note on the floor. The envelope was black, and it had _Kyouko Kirigiri_  on red ink written on its back. The idol took the note and gave it to Kyouko once she saw her name on it, waiting for her to read it.

_I forgot to ask for your phone number, so I am giving you mine. I would call if I were you. Hope you do not mind my audacity. – Celestia Ludenberg_

Sayaka couldn’t resist the curiosity, so she read it too before Kyouko could refuse to let her do it. “Oh, it’s from Celes!”

“Thanks for respecting my privacy, busybody.”

“You were gonna show it to me anyway.”

“Whatever.” Kyouko sighed, used to the fact Sayaka was a bit nosy.

“You should call her!”

“I’ll think about it.” But deep inside, Kyouko knew she was going to do it.

Luckily for the detective, Sayaka didn’t suspect about their meeting the day before. Kyouko lied on her bed, carefully watching the envelope. _I forgot to ask for your phone number._ That was most certainly a lie, Celes simply didn’t dare to ask for it face-to-face. Though Kyouko had to acknowledge Celes had gave in this time, so it was fair she did it too. It wasn’t like she didn’t want to keep in contact with her anyway. It was the exact opposite.

 _I’m Kirigiri. This is my number._ After sending that message, she put away the phone and closed her eyes. She couldn’t avoid thinking about Celes once again, basically because she wondered how the gambler discovered which was her room and when did she leave the note – in case she didn’t make someone do it for her.

“Hey.” Sayaka sat on the bed next to her, knowing what Kyouko was thinking about. “Don’t make your head spin. She has always been that… mysterious.” The idol said with a giggle. “Wanna watch a film?”

Kyouko looked at her, feeling somehow more relaxed. Sayaka spent a lot of time with her after all, and by that moment she had learnt to read Kyouko’s mind – not always but many times at least. The idol was a kind-hearted girl, and no matter the situation she always tried to cheer her friends up, a thing the detective was thankful for when she was in a bad mood or simply needed to clear her mind.

Kyouko gave her a soft smile. “I’d love to.” She didnt’t say that out loud that exact moment, but she was really grateful for having a friend like her. “Thank you, Sayaka.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay this chapter was way longer than i expected it to be at first but well here it is  
> anyway, you've seen how kyouko's life is, now you'll see how celes' is  
> they don't interact much this chapter but i assure you they will in future ones!!!!  
> and of course, hope you enjoy it uwu

Celes smiled slightly as she looked at her phone.

_I’m Kirigiri. This is my number._

She knew Kyouko’s mind must have been full of questions about how the note ended there, and the thought of making the logical and smart detective raise questions amused her. They had been messaging each other for a bit less than two weeks, something which had Celes in a surprising good mood. The truth was they only answered when they could, and exchanged two or three messages per day, enough for both to let the other know they were fine and interested in maintaining that relationship thing they had. When they started to text each other, Kyouko told Celes her final exams were near and would soon be quite busy, and by busy she meant spending most of her time studying in the library.

Interrupting her thoughts, Celes heard three knocks on the door, and aother one exactly five seconds after. That was a password only two people knew since every person who came to her house apart from those two people rang the doorbell instead of knocking.

She sat up and opened the door, seeing a serious and confused Mukuro Ikusaba outside with her back against the wall. “It’s not usual for you to call me outside of our schedule.”

“I know.” Celes sighed. “Go inside.”

The other girl nodded without asking anymore questions and did as she was told. Celes’ apartment wasn’t the biggest one, but it was enough for her, at least by that moment. It had two floors: the first one had the kitchen, bathroom and living room, the latter being the wider area of the house. In the living room, there was a spiral staircase who led to the gambler’s room, but she didn’t let anyone go there. Not a single person.

About Mukuro, she had been working as Celes’ bodyguard for a year. They weren’t especially close when they were in Hope’s Peak, they built their relationship two years after graduation. The only thing class 78th’ students knew about Mukuro and Junko was that they were always together but didn’t give anyone an exact location since they were always travelling.

Celes ran into the twins in Japan, when the three of them were 19. The gambler was in a casino in the middle of a blackjack game when she heard the recognizable hysterical laugh of Junko Enoshima a few meters away from her, laughing at someone who had just lost a bet. According to Mukuro, Junko started to frequent casinos since she _enjoyed the despair people felt when they bet and lost everything they had_ so much it was even worrying. But Celes didn’t give much importance to that anyway. That same night when the three girls were chatting casually, Celes found out Mukuro was looking for a job, and the soldier suggested Celes she should hire a bodyguard, indirectly trying to convince Celes to hire her. And it worked.

The twins went with Celes when she moved to Europe and bought an apartment together a few streets far from where the gambler’s one was.

At first, Mukuro and Celes’ relationship was nothing more than a professional one, but as time went by they both grew closer. They weren’t exactly friends, but neither only boss and employee. That was as closest as a friendship Celes had.

“Is it Kirigiri again?” Mukuro asked directly, deducing what the gambler wanted her to do.

“Correct.” The soldier looked at Celes then, waiting for her command. “I want you to observe her and note down her daily routine. Where does she usually go, if she hangs out with anyone else, those things.”

Mukuro gave it a thought for some seconds, and then asked. “I don’t mean to be a meddler, but why exactly would you want that information? When you want me to spy on someone is because they owe you money or you want them to be erased. And I don’t think those are your intentions with Kirigiri.”

“They aren’t. I just enjoy her company pretty much, and I’d like to know when she has free days. She’s one of the few people I can maintain a mature conversation with and not get bored. And she’s unpredictable, I like that in a person.”

“Is there anything you don’t like about her?” Mukuro asked, eyebrows raised. The soldier had easily noticed Celes’ interest in Kyouko, but didn’t mention it. Celes rarely took interest in someone. It had only happened twice, one obviously with Mukuro, and the other with Kirumi Tojo, Celes’ personal maid and one of the two people Celes had by her side, along with the soldier. So Mukuro knew, at least partly, how Celes’ mind worked when someone caught her eye.

“You know what I meant.” Celes rolled her eyes. “Just do your job and don’t ask anymore questions. I’ve given enough explanations for now.”

That wasn’t the first time Celes asked Mukuro to spy on someone, but as Mukuro said, it had always been with far from friendly purposes. Of course that wasn’t Kyouko’s case, but still Celes wanted to know her daily life. Mainly because she wanted to be in control, and make sure when the people she wanted to meet were free so they couldn’t say no.

“I’ll set to work this afternoon.” Mukuro stated after a few seconds of silence. “There’s a little problem though.”

“And that problem would be?”

“You should know. Kirigiri is a detective. She’s bright, smart and always observing her surroundings. She could notice me.”

“Well, you’re a soldier prodigy. You should be able to surpass even her detective skills, no matter how good they are.”

Mukuro gave a deep sigh, expecting that answer. “Fine.”

“By the way, do you know anything about Junko?”

“She told me she was going to explore the area in depth.” Mukuro sighed. That wasn’t new though, Junko used to disappear for days, and then went back like nothing had happened at all. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have to work.”

“Good luck.” The gambler said with a genuinely sincere voice tone. Mukuro smiled back and left the house, ready to do her assigned mission.

The solider was really good at spying. She had never been discovered, and hoped that wasn’t the first time. Partly, she understood Celes’ interest in Kyouko, since she Mukuro herself admitted the detective was an interesting person, and the only one who had made her question if her soldier skills were good enough.

It took her two weeks to carefully observe Kyouko and note down her routine. Fortunately, she went unnoticed and could do her job without any inconvenient – though Kyouko did suspect someone was following her a couple of times, but Sayaka convinced her she was imagining things.

When she finished her task, she went again to Celes’ house with a bunch of papers in a folder, where she had everything written down. This time the gambler’s maid, Kirumi, was there with them. The maid didn’t live with her, but it wasn’t strange to see her in Celes’ house since Kirumi had the same level of closeness with the gambler Mukuro had.

Kirumi and Celes met for the first time also in Japan. Kirumi worked in a casino Celes used to frequent, but her working conditions were quite horrible. It wasn’t like Celes cared much about anyone but herself – and Mukuro until then, but Kirumi was gentle and reserved, and she was really good at her job. Also, Celes loved how Kirumi prepared her tea, and was used to always ordered only her to prepare it every visit. Mukuro knew Celes preferred having servants rather than doing things by herself, so she was the one who suggested to hire Kirumi, and after considering it for some days, Celes decided to do it. And she didn’t regret it. Kirumi was eternally grateful Celes _saved_ her from the conditions she was in, and was extremely loyal to the gambler. As time went by, Celes came to see her more than just a servant, to the point she was the only person along with the soldier Celes – at least partially – trusted.

Mukuro sat on the sofa facing the one Celes was sitting on, and Kirumi served them tea as the soldier started to inform Celes.

“From Monday to Friday, the first thing she does when Maizono and her leave their room is have breakfast at the cafeteria with Naegi, Asahina, Fujisaki, Ishimaru and obviously Maizono. The rest of the group join them on random days. Then she has lessons from nine in the morning to two in the afternoon, and doesn’t miss a single one. After class, she always has lunch with one of her classmates, a boy called Shuichi Saihara.” Celes smirked slightly, remembering him. “Her afternoons vary depending on the day. She either spends them studying in the library with Saihara, Togami and Ishimaru, hangs out with the usual group or goes to the gym – whose owner is Sakura, by the way. When it gets dark, Maizono and her have dinner at the cafeteria or buy something to eat it in their room. Once they enter their room at night, they stay there until next morning.” Mukuro waited a bit for Celes to assimilate the information.

The gambler quickly gestured her to continue. “Go on.”

The soldier answered with a nod. “Her weekends also vary. In the two weekends I had observed her, she spends little time with Saihara, and frequents Oogami’s house along with the rest of the group – or the majority of them at least. Last Saturday, Naegi and her accompanied Maizono and a classmate of hers whose name is Kaede Akamatsu – who Kirigiri seemed to know, they got on well though they didn’t seem to be very close, when they went shopping. They pretty much just observed Maizono and Akamatsu while they were buying things, though they didn’t seem bored I should remark. On Sundays she doesn’t go anywhere too far from campus, and spends the day either chatting with the rest or in her room, probably resting. To sum up, you could say from Monday to Friday she has a fixed schedule she always keeps up, while at the weekends she just waits for the group to make plans or rest if they don’t have any.”

Celes nodded, taking a sip of her tea, and waited a few seconds to speak again. “Good job.” She finally said with a smirk. “Any further observations?”

“Yes. Even if she claims to have a very good relationship with our ex-classmates – which she has, she’s especially close to five of them: Maizono, Naegi, Asahina and Fujisaki. Though her closest friend is Maizono may I say. About her in general, she’s as serious and blunt as ever, but there’s an evident change in her attitude. Now she’s not as emotionally cold as she was before. For example, she doesn’t respond negatively to being teased or treated with excessive affection if it comes from her close friends, obviously. But I mean, in school she didn’t even change her expression when someone treated her like that or made the effort to get close to any of us – not that she thought we were annoying, she just was fine on her own. And that part of her is still there, but it had… softened. She seems genuinely happy when she’s surrounded by the people important to her – the usual group and Saihara, and smiles more. In all honesty, I found that cute.”

“Cute?” Celes questioned, eyebrows raised. The soldier hadn’t ever described the people she spied on that subjectively. “Well, I guess I can’t contradict facts.” She acknowledged, agreeing with Mukuro.

“There’s one last thing I’d like to say.” Mukuro said. “I wasn’t caught, but she suspected someone was following her. Though fortunately Maizono convinced her not to pay much attention to it. It’s almost worrying she’s nearly always alert. That’s all.”

Celes gave a deep sigh and took the papers Mukuro had left on the table. Everything Mukuro had told her was written down in them with a few more details. “You did a great job, to be honest. Though I expected no less from you.” Mukuro smiled at her, knowing that was Celes’ way of complimenting her. “Kirumi.” As Celes called her, the maid appeared again with a quite big bag of money, and gave it to Mukuro. “It’s a bit more the usual amount, I think you’ve earned it.”

“Good luck with Kirigiri.” The soldier said jokingly, taking the money with a half-smile. If she was any other person, Celes would probably ripped that smile off her face, but Mukuro was allowed to make that comments. Sometimes at least. “Now with your permission, I’m going back home. Junko is back and I want to make sure she didn’t involve herself in dangerous issues.”

“Good luck then.” Celes said with a laugh.

Mukuro answered with a weak smile as she closed the door. “Thank you.”

 

Gambling nights were sometimes exhausting for Celes, even if her ultimate talent made her always win. That Friday night, the gambler wanted to go home as soon as possible without any specific reason, she just didn’t feel like gambling, so as she finished her tenth game she told Kirumi and Mukuro she wanted to go. Kirumi took all the money Celes won to save it and then said goodbye, and Mukuro escorted her outside the casino.

“You seem pretty bored today.” The soldier said casually.

“I’m not in the mood for gambling to be honest.”

Mukuro raised an eyebrow. “It’s the first time you’ve said that in a while. Did something hap–?”

“Celes?” Both women looked at the person whose voice interrupted them and saw Sayaka – the one who spoke, with Kyouko, both girls in front of them and looking at them with an equally surprised and curious expression. “Mukuro?! What are you–”

“You’re being too loud.” Kyouko interrupted her.

“S-sorry. I’m just really surprised to find you two here… together.”

“It’s a… curious coincidence, may I say.”

The four girls kept silent for a few seconds, unable to articulate a word, until Kyouko broke the ice.

“I think it would be better to talk anywhere else.”

“It would be the smartest thing to be honest.” Mukuro nodded, visibly alert.

An idea popped in Sayaka’s mind as she slowly turned her head to look at Kyouko. “Why don’t they…” She started in a sweet voice tone in order to convince the purplette. “… come to our room… just for a little…” Kyouko raised an eyebrow, not sure if that was a good idea. “… so we can catch up with everything?”

Both black haired girls looked at each other, knowing Kyouko would probably say no. It was understandable though, and Celes wanted to tell her it was fine if she didn’t want to. But since there was the possibility the detective said yes, she opted for keeping silent.

“It’s late though.” The detective simply stated, but didn’t neglect Sayaka’s idea. The idol knew quite well Kyouko didn’t particularly like to have her personal space invaded by strangers. But, Celes and Mukuro weren’t exactly strangers. That’s why she kept insisting.

“Pleeeease! You’ve already seen Celes but I haven’t! And Mukuro is here too…”

Kyouko gave it a though for a moment, and found out that deep inside her the idea was even appealing to her. She didn’t mind to have Celes’ company again, and she was also happy to see Mukuro even if her expression kept as neutral as always. Maybe that wasn’t the best time of the day to have a meeting, but who knew where and when she would see the gambler again. Besides, it was Friday, so they had no class next day. She looked at Sayaka first, and then back to Celes and Mukuro.

“Is that okay with you two?”

The soldier looked at Celes, and said girl nodded with her signature smile on her face. “I wasn’t busy anyway, so it’s fine for both of us.”

Kyouko noticed Mukuro hadn’t said a word about what she wanted to do, and though she imagined why, she didn’t mention it. “Come with us then.” The purplette answered.

“Yay!” Sayaka said quietly.

They didn’t wait a second to start walking towards the university residence. Kyouko and Sayaka were leading the way while Celes and Mukuro were walking a couple of meters away from them, each pair speaking about different topics – Sayaka spoke a lot about how the two other women had become that beautiful, especially Mukuro – until they got to the room.

“You’re allowed to enjoy yourself as long as you don’t forget you’re working.” Celes told Mukuro in a whisper to which the soldier responded with a nod.

Kyouko locked the door once the four girls were inside, and sighed in relief when she saw Sayaka had tidied up her part of the room.

“You can take off your shoes.” The detective said as she removed her boots, the other three girls doing the same as she mentioned it. Sayaka quickly collocated a couple of chairs between the two beds while Kyouko took off her jacket and sat on her own bed.

Celes and Mukuro were about to sit when the gambler noticed there was a small board on Kyouko’s desk, and among other things, it had some photos on it. One of them was of their graduation at Hope’s Peak, and Celes felt a hint of tenderness when she saw it. There was another photo of those class 78th’ students who were studying there, other of Kyouko with Saihara, and the biggest one was a picture of her and Sayaka hugging – well it was Sayaka the one who was giving the hug, and she was widely smiling, and for Celes’ surprise, Kyouko was too. Maybe her smile wasn’t as big as Sayaka’s, but it didn’t need to be to see the detective was genuinely happy.

However, a different photo caught Celes’ attention. It was a picture of an approximately six-year-old Kyouko being lifted by her father with the biggest smile the gambler had seen on her face. It was the first time Celes had seen that expression on Kyouko’s face, and she couldn’t help to keep looking at the photo until she heard the detective clearing her throat. When Celes turned her head to look at her, she noticed Kyouko was a bit embarrassed since her cheeks had a weak – nearly unnoticeable blush, and couldn’t avoid smirking as she covered her mouth with her fingertips, but didn’t say a thing about either the blush or the photos.

Celes and Mukuro sat on the chairs then, and Sayaka did the same as Kyouko, sitting on her bed and smiled happily. “So… when did you come here? And why? Did you miss us? Tell me everything!”

The gambler seemed to hesitate a bit before speaking, but told Sayaka the same story she had told Kyouko, omitting quite a lot of details, but neither Kyouko or Mukuro mentioned it. Sayaka wasn’t someone who particularly annoyed Celes, but she didn’t have any special interest in the idol either. She was being nice to her since she didn’t have a reason not to be, and deep inside because if she was rude to Sayaka there were high chances of Kyouko getting angry with Celes.

When Celes finished speaking, Sayaka asked Mukuro about what she did before meeting the gambler – since Celes hadn’t mentioned a thing about their professional relationship, so Sayaka thought they were only close friends – and the soldier also narrated her story from the moment Junko and her graduated with the rest of them until they both ran into Celes.

“Wow…” Sayaka murmured when Mukuro finished. “Your lives have been so exciting, I can’t even imagine how would I feel if I started working right after graduating in school… but I’m so happy everything is going well for you two!”

“It’s not a big deal when you have clear what do you want to do, but thank you anyway.” Celes answered politely.

“Maybe I’m being a bit hasty, but… why don’t you two come with the rest of us someday? I can ask Sakura if she minds if you two are coming next time we meet. I don’t think she will.”

Mukuro looked at Celes since the gambler was the one who decided what they both would do. Celes took some seconds to think about it, and unconsciously looked at Kyouko, who had an expectant look on her face. Celes was good reading faces though, and even if the detective’s expression was neutral, Celes could tell the purplette wanted her to say yes.

The gambler didn’t lie to herself, not this time at least, she wasn’t really interested in seeing her old classmates again, but since she wasn’t in the mood of gambling lately and acceding could be a good way to score points with Kyouko – a thought she was surprised to have, she thought it could be an interesting experience.

“I don’t see why not.” Celes finally answered.

“Fantastic! I’ll call Sakura tomorr… oh no.” Sayaka turned pale when she looked for her phone and didn’t find it anywhere in the room. “I… it must have fallen on our way back.” She said alarmingly looking at Kyouko, whose eyes were widened. “I should go out and look for it… I…”

“I won’t let you go out this late.” Kyouko interrupted her. “Even if I go with you, it’s still dangerous. Please wait until tomorrow.” The detective tried to comfort her.

On the contrary, Celes was quite relaxed. She just had to look at Mukuro out of the corner of her eye and say _“Go with her”_ In a low but commanding voice tone to make the soldier understand what she had to do.

Mukuro then sat up and kindly offered her hand to Sayaka, who was close to having a panic attack. “Come on, we’ll find it. You know I’m pretty good at… keeping people safe.” The idol took it, hesitant at first, but slowly regained her composure and looked at Kyouko, like if she was asking for permission to go with the soldier.

The detective, who already deduced what was Mukuro’s current job, nodded as her expression grew more calmed. “Take care of her.”

“I will.”

Once the two girls closed the door, Celes and Kyouko kept silent. Celes knew the purplette had questions to ask, but didn’t bring up the topic, probably because she didn’t want to upset the gambler by asking more question than necessary. And Celes enjoyed having Kyouko feeling like that.

“I’m waiting.” Celes finally said, willing to solve Kyouko’s doubts.

“It was Mukuro who left the note here, wasn’t she?”

“Yes.” Celes nodded. “Before you ask, I don’t how she found out your room number. She does her job, and I don’t need to know how.”

“I see.” Kyouko seemed to hesitate a bit before asking the next question. “Was that the first time you gave her the order to find something about me?”

Celes smirked, knowing that was coming. “Nothing escapes you.”

“Why?” Kyouko asked.

“My intentions aren’t bad.” Celes simply stated, making clear she wouldn’t giving more explanations. “Are you mad at me?”

“Not mad, but a little upset. I don’t like when people spy on me, you could’ve just asked me.”

“Would you have told me?”

“If your question is as simple as what was my daily routine, yes, I probably would.”

“… _Probably_.” Was Celes’ answer. “Anyway,” The gambler went on. “Weren’t you alarmed when you noticed someone was spying on you?”

“At first I kind of was. But I didn’t want to jump to conclusions since I only noticed her presence a couple of times. Sayaka tried to convince me not to worry, but I couldn’t avoid it. I tried to deduce why would someone want to investigate me since I haven’t even started working professionally as a detective, and that had me spinning my head for a few days. But tonight, when I saw you with Mukuro, everything clicked. It had to be you. Also, I suppose she’s your bodyguard. If my opinion matters, don’t be hard on her because of this. She did a great job after all, I only felt she was following me twice.”

“My dear Kirigiri, you’re much brighter than I expected.” Celes, whose smile could’ve been described as satisfied and slightly seductive, complimented the detective.

“Thank you, I guess.” Kyouko answered running a hand through her hair.

Even if Mukuro was the one discovered, Celes felt like if she was caught, and wanted to embarrass Kyouko for making her feel like that. Compliments didn’t work, but there was something which did. Celes looked again at the photo of Kyouko when she was a kid, and smiled amusingly.

“You look really good in all those pictures, especially in this one.” Celes said gesturing at the one she was referring to.

“Don’t look at it.” Kyouko quickly answered, visibly flustered.

“Oh, why not? You were _adorable_ as a kid. Though I didn’t expect you to be the kind of person who had photos with memories on her desk.”

“Me either. This board is a birthday present.” Celes noticed Kyouko’s words were tender as she mentioned that last thing. “Our friends, the ones who are here, made it for my last birthday. They collected pictures of all our important moments together, and even contacted my father to get one of when I was a kid. It’s important to me, so that’s why I have it here. The only people who enter to this room are the rest of the group and Saihara, who is in some pictures too, so that’s why I have it in sight.”

Celes had then a sweet smile plastered on her face – probably because of seeing Kyouko talking with such tenderness and honesty, but most of all surprised because of how fast the purplette opened up. Celes could tell the story behind that board was kind of private, but the detective hadn’t hesitated to tell her. Besides, Kyouko had said _“our friends”_ , implying they were still Celes’ friends too.

“See?” Kyouko said confidently. “You can ask me instead of sending other people to spy on me.”

“I’ll… take that into account.” Celes answered, speechless for the first time in a while. It was true what Mukuro said after all, Kyouko wasn’t as cold as she used to be years ago, and Celes could tell the detective had been that sincere to show she was trustworthy since only people Kyouko considered close had seen the photos and knew the story behind them.

It was Celes’ time to give in.

“I…” She started, struggling a bit to continue. It was the first time she truly apologized in a while, and didn’t really like to do it. But this time, she had a good reason. “I’m sorry. Not only the spying, but for upsetting you too. I just… you know. Was curious.” She lied. Her true words would have been _I wanted to know more about you_ or _I’m kind of interested in you_.

If Kyouko noticed that was a lie, she didn’t say it. Instead, she just nodded and smiled weak but tenderly. “You’re forgiven as long as you don’t try to invade my privacy again. Without my consent, I mean. Besides, I prefer Mukuro had been the spy rather than a stranger. Just trust me, okay?” Celes noticed she was slightly blushing because of the detective’s sudden sweetness, and thanked her make-up was covering it. They kept looking at each other for what it seemed for a while, but they didn’t mind, the silence was comfortable for both.

Before they could speak again, the door opened, and Sayaka went inside the room again, followed by Mukuro. The idol was proudly holding her phone in her hand. “I found it! I mean… we found it!”

Mukuro let out a slight laugh. “It was near the gym, where we ran into each other. Fortunately, the streets are quite empty so no one picked it up.”

“It’s a good thing you found it.” Kyouko said, relief in her voice.

Just after the detective’s comment, Celes sat up and dusted off her dress. “We should be going then, Mukuro.” The soldier nodded and kept the door opened, waiting for Celes to leave the room. “See you soon.”

“Be careful on your way back!” Sayaka said with a wave of her hand. “Kyouko will call you with news about the meeting!”

Kyouko chuckled at her suddenly assigned task, but nodded. “Apparently, I will. Goodbye.”

As Mukuro closed the door after Celes left the room, the gambler allowed herself to smile. “I’m so glad I left the casino earlier today.”


End file.
